Poetry by Joshua Idowu Omidire
thirsty man fills his cartridges
with roses. it takes a blood spring to
quench a morbid thirst. lives fall like withered
petals in the face of shattering shots. that’s how bloodless
gods defend their territories. cartographer is busy drawing
lines across the lands. the stripes course
through the continents of our minds. this is Gaza. that is
West Bank. Israel is
somewhere in the mix. lords of misery sit
on edges of tiny doors between the streaks
that run through our days like hot
knife running through innocent butter. and play cards of
race, tribe, religion, and nationalism and
wealth. I can’t remember any
of those when hunger summersaults on the pitch of my
tummy. I’m a simple man praying for daily
bread. there is Gaza in my country too. and West Bank. and
Syria. and flames ever rising. and buildings ever crumbling. and
children ever running. and women ever crying. and
metal men ever shooting us fatal love from their
benevolent cannons. I don’t blame my feet hurrying
me across the Sahara; from Agadez to al-Qatron.
you won’t mind when you see feet and skulls sticking
out of the sands; my country too does
not know how to bury its dead. when home is caldron,
you leave it before it melts you.
Bio
Joshua Idowu Omidire is a vibrant poet, editor, blogger, and social media strategist. His poems have appeared in Footmarks, Our Legacy of Madness, The Sky is our Earth: An- thology of 50 young Nigerian Poets. He was the winner of Professor Eruvbetine’s Poetry Prize. He also won Professor Hope Eghagha’s Drama Prize in 2012. He has been published in Pulse, Ynaija, Praxis, Literary Horizon: An International Peer-Reviewed English Journal, etc. He reports for The Journal Nigeria.
He loves reading hard books, listening to music, and scooping inspiration from the stream of mundane activities. He enjoys playing with street photography, graphic designing, and photo editing.
Originally published November 29, 2023